Friday, July 1, 2011

I Secretly Love Nanny McPhee . . .

I don't like it when my husband's gone: night noises are more alarming, the days are longer, and the girls miss him too. But I do actually like having a few evenings where I can watch girly movies and eat an entire bowl of popcorn.

I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to rent Gnomeo and Juliet, but alas. So instead, last night I rented Nanny McPhee Returns. It was Lovely.

First of all, I ADORE ADORE ADORE Emma Thompson.

I think I've loved her in every movie of hers that I've seen, particularly Sense and Sensibility (her crying scene at the end is PHENOMENAL!).

But these Nanny McPhee stories are just delightful and not only does she play the Nanny, she's written and directed them so her influence is, of course, huge.

For this second movie, it's set in World War II with a woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who is struggling to keep it together while her husband is away at war. She also takes in a niece and nephew who create quite a bit of havoc and of course the entire situation warrants the help of Nanny McPhee.

Nanny McPhee teaches her character lessons (all wonderful ones) and of course works her magic in the process. I loved the story, the emotion of a husband and father away at war and the family dynamics. It made me cry, it made me laugh, and it did make me roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of it -- but I love that too. And it's completely clean.

I highly recommend both of these movies. Oh and it was a joy to see not only Thompson (Professor Trelawney) but Ralph Fiennes (Voldemart) and Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) together in something entirely different. Maggie Smith particularly was a joy!

And it's wonderful for children of course -- although I haven't had my girls watch it because it might still be over their heads (we're in cartoon stage of course) but I'll save them for later for sure.

What is this?

Even though I am now a stay-at-home mom, I can't stop reading, writing, and lesson planning! My brain was permanently wired from years of teaching middle and high school history and English. I continue to be inspired by literature and want to talk about it with others. Every now and then, I have a lightbulb worth sharing -- and sometimes it's a lemonade disaster!